BP p.l.c. $BP Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments increased its BP position by 15.8% in the second quarter, acquiring 192,211 additional shares for a total stake valued at approximately $52.3 million. Institutional and hedge-fund investors collectively own 11.01% of BP.
• BP reported quarterly earnings of $2.22 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.87, while revenue rose 106.1% year over year to $69.11 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5196, implying an annualized yield of about 4.9%.
• BP secured a license to develop the second phase of Venezuela’s offshore Loran gas field, estimated to hold roughly 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas. The opportunity expands BP’s long-term production prospects but carries regulatory, sanctions, infrastructure and geopolitical risks.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,410,714 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after acquiring an additional 192,211 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of BP worth $52,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BP by 39.5% during the second quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,809 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 19.4% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 257,924 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $9,530,000 after purchasing an additional 41,865 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in BP by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 36,925 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in BP by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,052 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in BP by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,953 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela gas expansion: BP secured a licence to explore and develop the second phase of the offshore Loran gas field with ADNOC-backed XRG and Qatar-linked UCC Oil and Gas Holding. The field is estimated to contain approximately 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, giving BP exposure to a potentially valuable long-term production opportunity as Venezuela reopens its energy sector to international companies. BP granted license for Venezuela's Loran gas field in partnership with XRG, UCC
• Positive Sentiment: International partnerships reduce execution burden: BP’s partnership with Gulf-backed companies could provide capital, regional expertise and political support for the Venezuelan project. The deal also positions BP among the first major international energy companies returning to the country after years of isolation. BP returns to Venezuela with Gulf partners
• Positive Sentiment: Shah Deniz project advances: Emerson won a multimillion-dollar contract to provide automation technology for BP’s $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression project in Azerbaijan. The project is designed to access lower-pressure gas reserves and support production, although the contract is more significant operationally than financially for BP in the near term. Emerson wins contract for BP’s Shah Deniz Compression project
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor positioning: Unusually heavy options activity included purchases of 128,060 call options, more than five times average daily volume. This may indicate increased bullish speculation, but it does not represent a change in BP’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Strategic and geopolitical concerns: The Venezuela announcement came shortly after BP outlined plans to leave the North Sea, raising questions about its geographic priorities and exposure to a politically sensitive market. The Loran licence remains subject to regulatory approvals, and sanctions, infrastructure challenges and political uncertainty could delay development or increase costs. BP to develop offshore gasfield in Venezuela

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP opened at $42.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.16. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.15. BP p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $32.72 and a twelve month high of $48.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.5196 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BP. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on BP from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Freedom Capital raised BP from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on BP from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.36.

BP Profile

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company's core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.

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